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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22396330">Supply and Demand Beginnings</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MinervaMaughan/pseuds/MinervaMaughan'>MinervaMaughan</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Xafrin DND</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Actual Roleplay, Backstory reveals, Brief mentions of other characters - Freeform, F/M, Insight Checks, Kissing, Serious Relationship Discussions, Sisters, Sooo Many Insight Checks, They're practically reading eachother's minds, awkward first kiss, dnd, the exact opposite of slowburn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-01-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-01-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 09:21:49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>16,584</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22396330</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MinervaMaughan/pseuds/MinervaMaughan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After being tipped off by Arthara that Salaniea might reciprocate his feelings, Jacob decides to confirm it for himself and is overjoyed by what he finds.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jacob &amp; Aphy, Jacob Jason/Salaniea Harpoon, Salaniea &amp; Aphy, Supply and Demand</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. A Question</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is an actual roleplay done in direct messaging with the OOC commentary cut out. Please excuse any pacing, grammar, or formatting issues caused by this fact. Also note that due to its nature as a roleplay, the perspective constantly changes between characters.<br/>I only played the role of Jacob Jason. Salaniea and Aphy do not belong to me.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jacob sits near the center of camp, just finishing up his breakfast, when he notices Salaniea. His head had been spinning ever since his conversation with Arthara yesterday, and even though it pushed away his thoughts of death he wasn't sure how much longer he could last before he'd go insane. He needed to ask and the matter would be clear. That's it. Done.</p>
<p>He prestidigitates his bowl clean and puts it back into his bag, shooting a quick Thank you to whoever made breakfast that morning, and makes his way toward Salaniea</p>
<p>Salaniea is sitting yet again outside her tent, sharpening knives absently.  It seems to be the extent of what she does nowadays, too anxious about being in the catacombs to focus on much else.  She glances up when she hears Jacob approach, her ears twitching.  She pauses in her sharpening to give him a small wave.</p>
<p>Jacob puts on as relaxed of a smile as he can as he waves back. "Good morning!" He stops in front of her</p>
<p>She gives him a smile back, "g'Morning!  How'd you sleep?"</p>
<p>He shrugs. "Could have been better, could have been worse." He glances behind him at the others and looks back to Salaniea, lowering his voice. "Could I talk to you in private? I wanted to ask you something..."</p>
<p>She tilts her head slightly, studying his face for a moment.  Then, she nods, "Sure.  Your tent or mine?  Aphy is off with Fealee for now." </p>
<p>Jacob tilts his head toward Salaniea's tent just beside them and chuckles. "Well, yours is closest"</p>
<p>She shrugs, laughing as she stands, "You got me there." She holds open the flap, giving an exaggerated gesture to enter with a smile.</p>
<p>He grins, biting back a sarcastic comment and entering the tent. As soon as he's inside, he turns toward her and motions for her to come join him inside with an equally exaggerated gesture.</p>
<p>She just grins, shaking her head as she enters and lets the flap fall behind her.  She tilts her head again, raising an eyebrow curiously.</p>
<p>Alright. They're alone. Time to ask.<br/>
His smile falters a little as he tries to figure out how to best word this...</p>
<p>"Alright..." He begins. "To business then.  I've been thinking about what you said the other day... While we were out foraging with Fealee..."</p>
<p>She lets out a quiet hum.  "I said a few things.  Which were you referring to?"</p>
<p>"After I apologized for, well, what happened the other night." Ok, at least he isn't freaking out yet, that's good. His face only feels slightly warm. "About how if you were uncomfortable you could have easily woken me up or just left"</p>
<p>"Ahhhh yes," she crosses her arms, leaning her weight on one well and looking at him curiously.  She doesn’t want to show it, but at this point she is starting to get nervous.  She isn't good at genuine feeling conversations.  Hasn't had much practice.  "I remember that."</p>
<p>"Well, you aren't obligated to answer, but..." Just out with it. "Why... Didn't you?"</p>
<p>"I-.  You were tired, you needed the sleep.  I wasn't about to wake you up." She skirts around the question, not lying but not giving the full truth either.</p>
<p>Jacob can't help but feel that there was more to it than she was saying. However, is that a feeling he can trust? He still isn't sure how he feels about the situation. Is he hoping there is more to it than that? His intuition likely isn't a reliable source here. </p>
<p>He smiles and absent-mindedly rubs the back of his neck. "Alright, that makes sense. I appreciate the gesture; I did need the rest." He chuckles a little. "You.. don't have to put yourself in any sort of awkward situation for my sake though."</p>
<p>He can absolutely tell there was more to it then she said.  He can also see that her expression is considerably more nervous than it was when he originally entered, "Really Jacob, it's okay.  I didn't..." She almost looks worried, "Did it make you that uncomfortable?  Because I should be apologizing to you if that's the case, that was never my intention."</p>
<p>After seeing her get nervous, his earlier feeling is confirmed. </p>
<p>Her worry at the end surprises him and he quickly holds his hands up in front of him."What? No! No, I-" He catches himself and pulls his body back into control, taking a deep breath pulling his hands back. Though, one hand ends up messing with his bag's strap as he continues. "You have nothing to apologise for! It- You didn't make me uncomfortable." He looks off to the side, feeling his face beginning to heat up again. "A little flustered maybe, but that's just because I thought I may have offended you..."</p>
<p>His reassurances make her feel better, and she lets out a quiet breath, "Ah." She looks up at the roof of her tent, her own cheeks starting to heat up.  Most of her relationships were for work, meaning they were based on half truths.  This is a realm she feels unprepared for.  With them, she didn't care what they thought.  With Jacob though?  She cares infinitely what Jacob thinks, which surprises even her. "That's--good.  I'm glad.  No, no offense anywhere, I promise."</p>
<p>"That's good. All things considered, it was still impolite of me." It feels weird being so determined to pull the blame onto himself. He just doesn't want Salaniea feeling bad about it, though. He pushes a few strands of stray hair back behind his ear as he turns to actually look at her again. </p>
<p>He notices that her cheeks are pinker than they usually are, and immediately Arthara's words come back to his mind. To be fair, he had probably just embarrassed her. But she had hidden something before... should he push? </p>
<p>He ends up standing there just looking at her for a lot longer than he intends to as he's thinking</p>
<p>"I-" she laughs, looking back at him, "Jacob. Really, it's okay." She looks much relieved to find out she didn't make him uncomfortable.  At some point in the conversation, she'd crossed her arms, but it’s more of a hug for herself, and her thumb is absently rubbing her arm.  Usually, she was so confident and still.  Clearly now, she isn't.  At his silence and stare, her cheeks flush even more.  She watches him carefully, a bit more vulnerability and gentleness to her face than usual as well.</p>
<p>....Surely not, right? I mean, she's a smart woman. She wouldn't waste her time on shorter-lived races, right? </p>
<p>Arthara was right.  This version of Salaniea before him is clearly softer and more nervous than she usually was, a high contrast to how she usually acted.  She seems to be even surprised at herself, probably for the same reason that Jacob is.  She even seems to be closing in a bit on herself, doubting everything about the situation.  She is out of her depth and vulnerable and desperately hoping that Jacob doesn't crush her entirely.  But she also infinitely cares about what he thinks and how he is doing.  She doesn't want to influence him or his thoughts, wanting him to be in control here.  Partly because she wants him to get whatever from this conversation that he desires, and partly because she doesn't even know where to start.  She needs him to just go there.</p>
<p>Jacob feels out of his depth. He's had relationships before, but they were under far different circumstances than this. He can tell he needs to do something but he's struggling to decide what.</p>
<p>He... He's still surprised, honestly. But he also feels oddly happy at the prospect. He doesn't want to hurt her but he also hasn't decided whether or not this is something he wants. Well, that wasn't entirely accurate. He had thought about it almost obsessively last night, and he had come to the conclusion that he, personally, did want to be with her, though if that was the crazy stress of the quest talking he wasn't sure. What is holding him back is.. he’s worried about her. Would something like this be good for her? Wouldn't he just break her heart one way or another, no matter how this turns out?<br/>
...<br/>
...<br/>
Well, that’s up to her to decide.</p>
<p>"You know..." He looks to the ground for a moment, face red as he tries to work up the will to speak. Salaniea is putting herself out there; she deserves honesty. "That night..." He looks her in the eyes and smiles, a little awkward, but gentle. "I actually slept much better than I had in days."</p>
<p>At his words, her eyes widen.  She seems almost surprised at this outcome.  As if she really really expected him to shut her down.  She relaxes quite a bit immediately, letting out only a slightly nervous laugh, "Really?  I'm glad." She'd thought a bit about what would happen with this relationship - his human-ness.  And in the end, she'd essentially resolved herself to three thoughts.  One, he probably didn't reciprocate anyways so it was fine.  Two, who knew if they would even survive the next day on a quest like this.  And third?  She'd never come across someone she cared this much about in her 150ish years of life, and wanted to take that chance.  Even if it would leave her alone eventually, she'd rather have had the opportunity to experience it with him than to let it pass by based on self-preservation.  She did everything to help herself, in this case she wanted to flip that on its head and go against her instinct.</p>
<p>Jacob also lets out a bit of a chuckle, a little nervous, but also a little relieved. It was such a simple statement but it somehow felt like a huge weight off. It reminds him of when they were talking out in the swamp: something about being able to speak his mind just feels so... freeing. He finds himself continuing, letting his guard down. </p>
<p>"Yeah, I've... Well, you know I've been struggling of a sort for a while. And being beside you..." He can tell he must be blushing obviously, and a voice in the back of his head is screaming that she's going to react badly, yet despite it, he feels relaxed. Just as he's noticed himself often feeling with her around. "...It made me feel safe."</p>
<p>Her cheeks at this point are starting to rival her hair in how red they are.  Especially when Jacob puts that last statement out there.  She shifts her weight, to the other leg now, and her arms drop their anxious position, instead hanging relieved at her side.  "I...  Jacob, thank you." She smiles, gentle and soft.  "That means a lot.  I'm really really glad it did." She runs a hand through her hair, almost giddy.  She doesn't know what to say, doesn't know if she should say something for fear of throwing him off whatever game he's gotten back.</p>
<p>He grins, completely genuinely, at her response. Gods, that smile. It’s doing things to his heart he isn't sure he can name.  "I only say it because it's true." And he means it. He still isn't sure if this can actually work, or if, perhaps, he'd misread the situation, but it doesn't seem to matter. In this moment, his masks have been left by the door. He's not a weapons broker, or a Chosen, or that bard always playing folk songs in the corner; he's just... Jacob Jason. He's putting himself out in the open, and he's a little nervous about it. But, he thinks he can accept whatever Salaniea chooses, whether that is to part as friends, act like this never happened, or... He'll probably kick himself for this later; he's moving too fast and this will never work out. But dammit he might die in the next few days and no one's made him feel this strongly before, and he doesn't want to regret that he never even tried.</p>
<p>She just laughs, shaking her head in complete surprise that this is actually happening.  She sees what he's doing, and let's down whatever last mask she was hiding behind as well.  It is only fair after all.  She looks at him, her face open and honest and so incredibly vulnerable for maybe the first time in her life, and says, "We both know I travel.  I don't fully understand having a place to belong.  But you, you feel like what I imagine home to be." He brought safety and familiarity and comfort that she didn't know was possible.  It scares her; she’s terrified of how comfortable she feels with him, but it is a fear she, for once, is willing to live with.</p>
<p>Jacob's breath catches as she speaks. Home, that's what she reminded him of too. It means more to him than he can begin to express with words. He can feel joy blooming in his chest, alongside a garden of other emotions threatening to overwhelm him.<br/>
Yet it all feels so surreal, like this is all just an intense dream or hallucination. The tent around him seems almost intangible, as if he could put his hand through it and it would disappear as an illusion when its ruse is exposed. </p>
<p>Salaniea's there before him, and she deserves an answer, but he's lost on what to say. So instead of trying to articulate his jumbled thoughts into words, he steps a little closer to her and gingerly holds out a hand.</p>
<p>She looks at his outstretched hand for only half a second before closing the rest of the gap and taking his hand.  She looks back at him with a grin, unable to believe this is happening.  She feels so many things, but overwhelmingly the main thing is joy.  Her feelings are clearly reciprocated.  That’s more than she could have dreamed of.</p>
<p>Jacob raises her hand and places a light kiss on the top, lips barely brushing her knuckles. He looks at her and smiles as he lowers their hands and entwines their fingers. He can feel her, warm and a little calloused; it grounds him and assures him that this is, in fact, real. This is really happening. This strong, caring, radiant woman in front of him actually wants to be with him. His eyes can't help but get a little watery at the overflowing joy it brings him.</p>
<p>She laughs, her whole face alight at the gesture.  How did she manage this one?  The embodiment of sunshine wants her, and she can't believe it.  She gives his hand a gentle squeeze just to reassure them both that this is real.  She notices his tears and her eyes widen.  Out of instinct she starts to reach out with her other hand, but hesitates, stopping herself.  "I- Are you alright??"  She'd heard of joyful tears, but had never seen them herself.  Is this it?  It has to be, right?</p>
<p>He chuckles, laughing at himself for being such an emotional wreck. "Never been better." He notices her eyes and realizes she must have actually been concerned, so he continues. "I'm alright, promise. I'm just so glad." He grins brightly. 'Glad' was a massive understatement, but he hopes she'll get his meaning.</p>
<p>Her smile quickly returns to her face, and she nods, "Good."  She lets herself follow through with the movement then, gently brushing away whatever tears had fallen with her thumb.  "Me too, Jacob, me too."  She then meets his eyes again, utterly soft for this man.</p>
<p>Jacob leans into her touch as she does so. As her hand pulls away he takes it into his own free hand, reveling in the fact that he can touch her. He supposes this is going to be a thing now. They'll have to work out the details, of course. Will they let the others know? How involved are they going to be for the rest of this mission? Who's going to tell Aphy? Decorum tells him he should do that last bit but Salaniea might know better how to handle it. </p>
<p>His smile relaxes as he thinks, and his eyes narrow for a moment. His eyes brighten again at the same time one side of his mouth flicks up a little. When he speaks, his voice sounds cheerful, genuine, and a little bit amused.<br/>
"Is it too early to kiss you?"</p>
<p>She looked down at their hands intertwined, amazed at how much she longed to have this.  With him.  Salaniea knows there's many questions she should be thinking about, but she can't bring herself to.  In this moment, this space, she wants to just be.  When he asks her the question, she looks up at him again and grins, some of that flirty confidence back.  "Absolutely not too early.  Please do."</p>
<p>He happily obliges. He has to reach up a little because of the height difference, but he closes the distance between them. Or at least he tries to, but ends up accidentally bumping Salaniea with the brim of his hat. He jerks back and laughs, taking off the hat and trying again.</p>
<p>Salaniea just laughs at the hat, that was par for the course really.  She leans down, closing the gap as well.  It’s way better than she imagined.  She'd kissed people before, sure, but with Jacob?  Someone she cares about?  That’s special.</p>
<p>The same was true for Jacob. As soon as their lips touched it felt like fireworks ignited in his chest. It seems strange that Salaniea would be so different from the relationships he'd had before; maybe it is because of the tension of the situation... Whatever it is, he doesn't care. All that matters in this moment is that Salaniea wants him and he cares about her and she's so close to him now..</p>
<p>He pulls away for a moment after a couple of seconds and smiles up at her. He wraps his arm, the one that had to let go of Salaniea's hand to move the hat, around her and goes in for another.</p>
<p>She takes her free hand now and brings it up to lightly hold his face.  Not enough to move it or anything, simply just to touch him now that she can.  She willingly goes along with him, amazed that this is happening.  After a moment or two longer, she pulls back just enough to lean her forehead on his, letting out a quiet breath and whispering, her eyes still closed,  "I'm not dreaming, right?"</p>
<p>Jacob smiles. He understands the sentiment; this almost feels too good to be true. But he can feel her and smell her  so close to him, thus he knows it must be so. "No, this is very real." He assures her softly </p>
<p>She opens her eyes, looking at him with a soft grin, "Okay good."  She knew it wasn't, but she just needed to hear him say it, needed to really put it out there.  Nothing else in the world is happening at this point for her, just the two of them.</p>
<p>He smiles, just relishing in her presence for a while. He moves his hand to brush a few stray hairs out of her face, his fingers lingering at the side for a moment. Then, he pulls his hand away and takes a small step backwards, suddenly painfully aware that there's only a tent separating them from the others and that Aphy could return and walk in on them at any moment. He doesn't want to stop, but they shouldn't completely lose their heads here, and the rational side of his is quickly dragging control back to it. </p>
<p>She leaned her face into his hand when it was there, but also completely understanding as he stepped back a little.  She does keep hold of at least one of his hands though.  She pauses for a moment before laughing quietly and shaking her head.  I'm standing here with JACOB JASON of all people.  Who would have thought.</p>
<p>Jacob laughs a little too, not knowing what she's laughing at but just an expression of elation. After they'd both quieted he gives her hand a slight squeeze, then speaks. "I hate to be the one to start the serious talks all of a sudden..." Still, they should probably establish a basic understanding before facing the other Chosen. "...But what should we do from here?" He glances to the side, unsure of how she'd react to the sudden tone change. "If that makes sense"</p>
<p>She looks at him, settling down for the topic change.  When he asks his question, she let out a tiny laugh, "In what regard?  In this case, that means a lot of things." Does he mean to the Chosen?  Aphy?  Just in general with their relationship?</p>
<p>He chuckles, realizing his question was rather vague, and relieved that she's going along with the discussion. "Well, I suppose the most pressing matter at the moment would be with the other Chosen." He tilts his head "Do we tell them anything? Hide it? Just not say anything and let them figure it out themselves?" He grins a little wider at the last one, specifically at the hilarity of certain members of the team snooping.</p>
<p>She lets out a quiet hum as she thinks, "I want you to weigh in here as well, don't make it just my decision." She looks at him, eyebrows furrowed just ever so slightly as she contemplates their options, "But personally, I don't want to hide it at least.  We both spend so much time hiding everything, especially around a group as," she pauses,, finding the right word, "suspicious of others as this.  Not only would we eventually be found out, but why add another secret to an already long list?" She looks at him, wanting to know what he thinks.</p>
<p>"That's fair," he comments when she stops to think. She's asking for his opinion, and he's surprised at himself for just how much he appreciates that. It's just the natural thing to do right? Surely the other girls he's been involved with did something as basic as ask for his input, right? Ha... Ha....<br/>
...<br/>
He listens intently as she voices her preference, nodding along. She made a good point; how readily he spilled to her already shows how tired he's become of keeping secrets all the time. He might crack if he starts carrying more. </p>
<p>"I agree. Hiding it would be far more effort and risk than necessary. But I also don't see any point in announcing it to everyone." He starts idly messing with the bandage on his hand. "All in all it sounds most appealing to just be casual about it, and if the others ask or notice so be it." He looks back toward her, having been looking a bit down while thinking. "What do you think?"</p>
<p>She watches him quietly as he speaks, agreeing with his judgment.  When he looks back up at her, she nods, "I would prefer that, I think.  Just let them notice as they notice, but also not try purposefully to hide it.  Those who care will find out and those who won't," she shrugs, "just won't."  She doesn't want to make a big deal out of it, especially since she doesn't know most of the people in the group as well as he does, but also she has enough things to hide; she doesn't need one more.</p>
<p>"Those who don't want to know don't need to know." He smiles jovially and claps his hands together once. "Well, sounds like that's one question down! Next order of business....Aphy." His expression turns a little more serious. "We should tell her, of course, but how? Specifically:" He motions to himself, "should I tell her?" He motions to Salaniea, "should you tell her?" He motions between them, "or should we tell her together?" He sits up straight and crosses his arms. "Many traditions state that the man should talk to the family himself, but you know Aphy far better than I do. You'll probably know better than me how to handle the subject with her."</p>
<p>At the mention of Aphy, Salaniea gives a sigh.  She looks up at the roof of her tent, clearly thinking a lot about it.  "I've never...hm.  Here's the thing."  She looks at him, "I have never had to have this kind of conversation with Aphy, so I'm not entirely sure.  I think it would probably help to have me there, but I don't necessarily need to do the majority of the talking."  She frowns slightly, debating with herself for a long moment before just shaking her head, "Traditions are whatever, we don't really come from any culture, so don't worry about that on our end at least."</p>
<p>He nods, clearly thinking very hard about this. He also tucks away the bit of information about never doing this before for later. Did it mean she never had a relationship before? Did it mean Aphy was always there when they started so she never had to tell her? Actually, considering Salaniea's lifestyle, it wouldn't be hard to believe she never had the chance to develop anything substantial.</p>
<p>Back to the matter at hand: Aphy... if he is completely honest, he's nervous about it. He knows she's a very sweet woman and that she apparently loves her sister very much just as Salaniea does for her, but it still feels intimidating. He can't shake the feeling that she might decide she doesn't like him and try to split them up in the name of doing what's best for her sister. Sounds ridiculous but it could happen. Apparently neither of them really knew her thoughts on her older sister entering relationships. This is uncharted territory: anything could happen.</p>
<p>He doesn't think he'll have a problem with Salaniea being there. Anything he says to Aphy he should be able to say to Salaniea's face. Plus, she might be right in that it'll help. She could jump in if needed.</p>
<p>Having Salaniea go by herself doesn't sound great. It's probably the 'safest' option for him all things considered, but it's also impolite and cowardly. If he's going to do this, he's going to do this right. If Salaniea had said Aphy would prefer it if only she went, then that would be fine. But as it's up in the air, he can not in good conscience make her do it.</p>
<p>If he went by himself.... He'd certainly be nervous. Salaniea wouldn't be there to soften the blow or talk her down if Aphy became upset for any reason. But also, depending on what questions Aphy might also him, it might be more comfortable for Salaniea to not be listening. Wouldn't want to make things awkward because Aphy asked him something bizarre. Ideally he should be able to be honest with her about anything, but he's not sure he wants to test his luck this early when he doesn't even know how serious this will get...</p>
<p>He's quiet for quite a while, arms folded, fingers tapping, staring at the ground as he weighs his options. He looks up at Salaniea, his face still showing concentration. After a moment, he asks, "...Do you want to be there? I've personally narrowed it down to Me doing it by myself or us going together; it depends on what you'd rather do."</p>
<p>Clearly this is quite the debate.  She doesn't want to do it herself, so she’s glad that he had ruled that much out.  She just wants Aphy to be able to talk to Jacob as well, knowing that she hasn't had too much interaction with him.  But also, she didn't know how comfortable Aphy would be with just Jacob.  She could be incredibly dependent sometimes, and really didn't stray very far from Salaniea in group spaces if she could help it.  Salaniea doesn't want to make Aphy uncomfortable by expecting her to have a conversation like this with a man she doesn't really know.  She sighs, running a hand through her hair, "I think I should be there, even if it's just for part of it depending on what she wants to do.  Maybe we start the conversation together and give her the option of me being there or not, let it be up to her rather than us."</p>
<p>Jacob nods, visibly relaxing. "Yeah, that sounds like a good plan." He glances at the flap of the tent. "When should we? Shortly after she comes back? Or should we wait some?"</p>
<p>She nods slightly at his agreement, glad that it seems like an okay plan.  "I think we should tell her soon.  She should be one of, if not, the first to know, I think."  She looks at him, "Is that alright?"</p>
<p>Jacob smiles at her. "Of course! Might be better if we don't give ourselves the time to overthink it too much anyway." He laughs.</p>
<p>Salaniea nods, grinning as he laughs, "You have a very good point."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Still smiling, he takes a deep breath and puts his hat back on. "Have you had breakfast yet, by the way?"</p>
<p>Salaniea pauses at the question, not entirely expecting it, "I don't believe I did."  she laughs quietly, "I don't routinely have breakfast due to travelling, so I sometimes forget."</p>
<p>"Well, there should still be down stew left out there. Cosima made a lot and we haven't been in here for that long." He pauses and stares at the wall for a second. "Have we...?" He chuckles, kind of sheepishly. "I haven't been keeping track"</p>
<p>She laughs as well, "I haven't either."</p>
<p>"Well, I guess we'll find out. And if it's all gone we can probably grab a couple of vegetables from the storage." He smiles and offers his hand. "Want to go check?"</p>
<p>She grins, gladly taking his hand, "Yeah.  Sounds perfect."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Talking to the Family is Always Hard</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Now that Jacob and Salaniea know they both want to begin a relationship, it's time for the next step: breaking the news to Salaniea's little sister.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Salaniea and Jacob had touched base - they were on the same page, just one more person to talk to:  Aphy.  They agreed to talk to her together, at least for the beginning of it all.  If she wanted to talk to either of them individually after the initial conversation, well, that was up to her.  They walk over to Salaniea and Aphy's tent together, pausing outside.  Salaniea holds up a hand to Jacob, stay here.  With that, she ducks into the tent alone to see if Aphy is available for a conversation.</p><p>Aphy had picked flowers on her way, making some more crowns to pass the time inside. Her ears and head perk up when she sees Salaniea though, gently grinning. </p><p>"Sal! What's up?"</p><p>Salaniea smiles at the sight of her sister, stopping just inside the flap of the tent and letting it fall shut behind her.  She lets out a small breath before speaking, "Hey.  Do you by chance remember Jacob?"</p><p>"Jacob? Mmmm, yeah I think so. What about him?" She fiddles with her flowers a bit as she returns to making flower crowns at an expert pace.</p><p>Salaniea really didn't think this was going to be that nerve-wracking.  "We wanted to talk to you if you had a minute..."</p><p>"Oh.... yeah, sure." She seems a bit confused, but doesn't seem to mind as much as even she thought she would. They have seemed to hang around each other for the most part anyways.</p><p>Jacob's standing and waiting, a little awkwardly, outside the tent. Trying not to make himself too nervous over this. </p><p>Salaniea nods slightly, backing out of the tent just long enough to open the flap and nod for Jacob to enter with a smile.  Using her hekkin high deception stat to hide all of the nervousness she feels.</p><p>Jacob smiles brightly and ducks into the tent. Giving Aphy a polite greeting before turning his head toward Salaniea, waiting for her.</p><p>Salaniea enters behind him, letting the flap fall shut yet again.  She walks over and sits on the ground next to Aphy, starting to make a sort of small circle on the ground.  She assumes Jacob will finish said sitting circle so they will all be facing each other equally for however this will go.  She doesn't want to seem more partial to one side or another, even just through the sitting arrangement.</p><p>After watching Salaniea take a seat, he also moves to sit on the ground, criss cross applesauce or whatever other people call it, for image's sake.</p><p>Even though his posture is relaxed, he is racking his brain for what to say to start this off.</p><p>Aphy seems a bit confused, but she wears a smile as she always does, joining in on the semi circle. It is a bit of a strange meeting, but it should be fine.</p><p>"Sooo.. what do you want to talk about?"</p><p>Jacob glances at Salaniea, the only indicator on his image that suggests any sort of unsurety. He takes a deep breath and tries to start. "Well, as you might have noticed, Salaniea and I have been spending a lot of time together in the last few days..." Another glance at Salaniea as he figures out where he's going with this lead-in.</p><p>Salaniea just watches him speak, one eyebrow raised slightly and her mouth in a half-amused smile.  It really is a serious discussion, but part of her also finds it funny.  Hopefully they were stressed over nothing.</p><p>Aphy really doesn't seem surprised, since Salaniea had been hanging around him very frequently. There isn't really much reaction yet, since she doesn't really know any queues about dating and such. So for the moment, she is just a bit confused.</p><p>Ok, no negative signals so far. If anything, her confusion tips him off to be more direct. "As we've been getting to know each other better, we've both realized that we admire each other." He pauses briefly to allow Aphy to react or Salaniea to jump in if she wishes.</p><p>Salaniea just shakes her head, knowing her sister well enough to know that direct is definitely the way to go.  She interjects at this point, noting the confusion, "Aphy, how much do you know about courting/dating?  Not flirting - but actual committed relationships."</p><p>"I don't know anything." She shakes her head. The only things she knew was not the sweet loving kind, though she has seen couples before walking around. She slightly knows how it works, but not enough to be confident.</p><p>Jacob lets Salaniea take the lead for now, since she seems to get the situation a little better than he does right now.</p><p>Salaniea nods slightly, shifting from her knees to also sit criss-cross-applesauce or whatever, "Right.  Okay.  So."  she pauses for a long moment, thinking over her words carefully.  Aphy had seen her do this before, any time she tried to explain something complicated, "You know a little bit about flirting.  There's the kind of flirting from the taverns that you've seen: that's not serious.  It's a game mostly.  But there's another kind of flirting that is serious, okay?"  She pauses, waiting for some confirmation that Aphy is following.</p><p>"Okay... a serious type of flirting. So not to get people to sleep with you?" She questions, trying to understand to her full ability since this is a serious conversation.</p><p>Jacob's carefully schooled expression breaks as he accidentally laughs a little at the absurdity of this conversation. It's only for a brief moment, though, before he's regained control.</p><p>Salaniea nods, smiling encouragingly.  She is incredibly aware that Jacob was right next to her and this could be awkward, but she is determined to get this right.  When he laughs, she shoots him a small glare, though obviously not entirely serious, before focusing back on Aphy. </p><p>"Exactly.  Like I said, serious.  this flirting has a different goal.  It's a kind of flirting that you do when you want someone to know you really really care about them.  In a romantic way though, not care about them as just friends or as family.  Does that make sense?"</p><p>"Y...ess.... I've learned a bit what romantic means. It's like, kissing and cuddling and um.. hand holding. Are you guys dating then?" She nods, now seeming to watch Jacob a tad more intensely, between the two of them.</p><p>Jacob smiles and nods. "Yes, we are. And we wanted you to be the first person to know."</p><p>Salaniea lets out a breath -- goal accomplished -- and nods slightly in agreement with Jacob's words.</p><p>Aphy nods, and nods.. and nods. It slows down overtime, her face losing its small smile, and eyes glossing over in a strange way. Her ears droop slightly, and there is... a strange drop in temperature, only by a few degrees.</p><p>"Does this mean... you don't need me anymore..?"</p><p>Jacob is FREAKING OUT inside. It's going bad! He was worried this wouldn't go well! Aphy doesn't like that they are together!</p><p>He seems fine on the outside though. Totally calm. Thanks high deception stat.</p><p>Salaniea moves quickly, acting entirely on instinct as she scoots forward to sit in front of Aphy, putting her own hands gently on her sister's shoulders, "Aphy, no, no.  That's not what that means at all.  Nothing, ever could make me not need you.  No person, no thing, no mission."</p><p>She is cold, her skin already like ice, the temperature in the tent dropping around her. Her eyes have no tears, just incredibly glossy as she looks up at her dear sister. </p><p>"It.. doesn't..? But.. I saw couples.. they looked like they hang onto each other and block out the rest of the world together.. I could feel them, their magic would swirl together and.." She sniffs softly.</p><p>Jacob is out of his depth on this one so he lets Salaniea handle it for now. Something tells him he won't be much help in this situation. At least not yet.</p><p>Salaniea shakes her head, smiling gently, reassuringly, "Aphy.  Have I ever been like everyone else?  I  promise  you, that's not going to happen.  That's why we wanted to have this conversation - so there's no secrets, but also so you know I still love and need you.  That's not changing.  Ever."</p><p>Oh... The temperature seems to return back to normal, slowly the color returns as gently flushed skin, and her eyes return to their usual blueish green hue. </p><p>"O...okay..." She seems to calm down, nodding slowly. "I.. understand.."</p><p>Salaniea tilts her head slightly as she continued to hold her sister's shoulders, eyes scanning her face to make sure she is really calming down, "You sure?  I want to be able to talk about it, the three of us, but I want you to be okay first."</p><p>"No I'm- I'm fine-" She nods gently. "I just.. needed to know I was still going to needed- wanted, anything." </p><p>Aphy seems to have calmed down, though she shivers from the small residual cold within the tent.</p><p>Salaniea nods slightly, "Always.  I have room enough in my heart for both of you."  With that, she scoots back so Aphy can see Jacob again, coming back to their circle position from before, but taking hold of Aphy's hand this time.</p><p>Jacob calms down, seeing that the situation has mostly resolved. He smiles empathetically and speaks up. "Actually, part of the reason I wanted to come talk to you, Aphy, is that we haven't really interacted much. That seems like a crime. I want to be your friend." He holds out a hand. "I know I've already introduced myself, but this feels like it deserves a second try." He grins, not one of the ones he plasters on when talking to anyone in the party, but a sincere expression. This time, he isn't a businessman expanding his network of allies.  "I'm Jacob. I hope we can get along in the future"</p><p>Aphy stares at his hand for a moment, processing all of this... before a grin begins to spread onto her face. It’s almost lighting up the tent, like a sunbeam. She takes his hand with a gentle two, shaking them.</p><p>"You want to be my friend?? That's.. I never thought! I'm Aphy! I'm sure we will!"</p><p>Jacob laughs, relieved that she's taking this well now and amused by her enthusiasm. "Glad to hear it!"</p><p>Salaniea doesn't show it, just watching the two with the same small smile as she had before, but the amount of relief coursing through her at this moment is astounding.</p><p>Aphy grins, placing her hands back to her own space. "Sooo.. what are you gonna do now? Liiike, how does this work? Dating?"</p><p>Jacob pauses for a moment, realizing they forgot to establish that when the two were talking before. They had gotten too distracted on figuring out what to do about Aphy they forgot to discuss their own relationship.</p><p>Salaniea also pauses for a long moment, glancing to Jacob.  She doesn't want to start deciding things without his input, but also, answers?  She had the same realization he did.  She shakes her head slightly, looking back at Aphy, "We don't...entirely know.  It's all very new and we're still trying to figure it out, to be honest."</p><p>"Sounds like everything I do with other people." She huffs. "They're so complicated, and they seem so much older than me. But don't worry! I'm sure you guys will figure it out soon enough!" Aphy beams at the two. Look at that cute acceptance-</p><p>Jacob chuckles. "Yeah, we'll work it out."  He's beaming at this point. Aphy had him scared for a bit earlier, but this has ultimately turned out far better than he expected. He looks over at Salaniea to see how she's doing, also shooting her an amused 'this has been a wild ride huh?' look.</p><p>Salaniea just smiles at him, nodding slightly before looking back to Aphy, "So, what other questions do you have?  Even silly ones, if you want." She shrugs with a grin, "If you have any, we want to answer them.  If we can at least."</p><p>As Salaniea speaks, Jacob turns back to face Aphy, smiling amicably</p><p>"Uhh...." She thinks for a moment, before turning to Jacob. "How old are you? Cause Sal is likeee, uh.. 20 something, and if you're younger than 18 I heard that's not allowed." Salaniea had taught her how to quickly convert between human and elven ages to make interactions easier. </p><p>Jacob tries to hold back laughter as he nods. "True, that would not be allowed." He grins. "But no need to worry; I'm 27"</p><p>Salaniea grins at the question, nodding with Aphy.  "Good question.  I forgot to ask that one."</p><p>"Me too, but that's because it's rude to ask a lady her age." He smirks teasingly. "What's your excuse?"</p><p>She laughs, shrugging, "Didn't think humans under 18 could grow facial hair."</p><p>"I mean, fair. For anyone under 18 it really shouldn't be considered facial hair; it should be considered a crime"</p><p>She just laughs again, shaking her head before looking back at Aphy with a smile.</p><p>Jacob grins, also looking back to Aphy. "Well, next question I suppose!"</p><p>"Let's seee...." She thinks for another moment, trying to think of smart questions. "Are you good with animals at all?? Just curious!"</p><p>He hums in thought. "I had a dog growing up.  Haven't had the chance to have any pets since then, and I don't run into too many animals where I live."</p><p>Salaniea watches him as he speaks, curious as well.</p><p>"Really? I think there was probably more animals then you realize, since many hide in the shadows and away from the eyes of people." She nods. "I.. can't wait to get out of here though, I need more open space and nature. Thankfully there's some cute friends I made here."</p><p>She whistles gently, and through a gap in the tent comes a small white mouse, hopping happily up her dress and to her shoulder. "I don't think I could stand it here without them. I did pick flowers on the way, but they'll wither soon."</p><p>Jacob sighs. "We shouldn't be down here for too much longer. I'm sure as soon as we actually pick up camp and start moving we'll be in Xafrin in no time." He smiles at her. "And both Salaniea and Fealee have voted that the city's probably overrun with wildlife at this point."</p><p>Aphy sighs happily. "Yesss, that'll be absolutely wonderful- I can only handle so many dead spirits in such a small space-" She needs to roll around in the grass and interact with some birds when they get to the surface again for good.</p><p>She shakes her head. "Anyways! Umm last question! Do you know how long you'll be dating??"</p><p>Hoo boy that is a question isn't it. That's not normally something you plan at the beginning of a relationship, at least he thinks it isn't. I mean, the point of serious relationships is you're hoping it will last, right...?</p><p>Salaniea freezes, only noticeably reacting to the question for a second before she seems to relax, glancing to Jacob.</p><p>He returns the glance before speaking, a little awkwardly. "I.. don't think that's something you plan at the beginning of serious relationships" He chuckles a little, remembering how clueless Aphy had seemed at the beginning of this conversation and attributing the question to that.</p><p>"Ohhh, okay, gotcha." She doesn't really understand why, I mean, Sal ages much slower than Jacob does, and he will die before she gets within her own death date probably. But she guesses that's what was different about serious relationships.</p><p>Salaniea just slowly nods, leaning back and resting her weight on her arms.  She doesn't say anything, letting Jacob take this one.  She seems happy enough with his answer.</p><p>Jacob smiles. Well, she said that was the last question. But now that question time is over he isn't entirely sure what to do now.</p><p>"Thank you for coming to me with this though.. even though I don't know much about it. I think I'm gonna get some sleep, feel a little woozy from some of that cold before, hehe." Aphy smiles gently, the mouse squeaking on her shoulder.</p><p>Jacob smiles gently and nods. "Of course. Go ahead and get some rest"</p><p>Salaniea nods slightly, smiling, "Sleep well, alright?"</p><p>"Uhuh! Have fun doing whatever dating couples do!" She calls innocently, waving to the two of them.</p><p>Jacob stands and offers his hand to help Salaniea to her feet, blushing and laughing a little at Aphy's comment. dating couple. Honestly, he's still having trouble totally believing it.</p><p>Salaniea just laughs, "Okay.  We will." She takes Jacob's hand, letting him help her up.   She gives a final wave and smile to Aphy before leading him out of the tent.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Ground Rules</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jacob and Salaniea move to another tent to set up some ground rules concerning their relationship. They then spend the rest of the time being totally sappy fools. Have fun.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As they exit Aphy and Salaniea's tent, Jacob lets out a breath and looks at Salaniea. </p><p>"....We never did discuss anything about our relationship." He speaks in a hushed tone.</p><p>Salaniea lets out a breath she didn't realize she was holding once they exited the tent, looking at him as he spoke.  She nods once he’s finished, keeping her voice at the same level as his, "We should do that."</p><p>He tilts his head in the direction of his tent, asking a silent question.</p><p>She nods again in regards to his question, heading that way.</p><p>He heads toward his tent with her. Once they are outside, he lifts the flap and motions for her to enter. "Ladies first"</p><p>She smiles ever so slightly at him as she passes, ducking inside the tent and waiting for him to enter.</p><p>The inside of his tent is mostly neat except for the bed roll laid on the ground, clearly used and just not put away or tidied. He closes the tent and feels a little self-conscious about the small mess, even if it isn't much. </p><p>He sits down and motions for Salaniea to sit as well. "Well, make yourself comfortable" He smiles. "No point in awkwardly standing around for this"</p><p>Salaniea doesn't mind the mess, her own tent is usually overflowing with flowers after all.  At his coaxing, she sits as well across from him so she can see his face while they speak.</p><p>"Well," he claps his hands together. "I'm... Not sure how to start this conversation!" He grins, a little lopsided, and shrugs.</p><p>She looks at him, smiling ever so slightly, almost sheepishly, "I have no idea either.  A couple of things were brought up there."</p><p>"Yeah..." He thinks for a second. "I think.. a good place to start would be setting up some ground rules...?" He's not actually sure, honestly. This isn't something he's done in prior relationships...</p><p>Salaniea just looks at him for a long moment before shrugging slightly, "Sure.  As good of a place as any to start."</p><p>Jacob nods, his face showing that he's thinking, but not entirely sure of what exactly he should be thinking about. This is unfamiliar territory....</p><p>She continues to watch him, her own face a bit expressionless before she just laughs, shaking her head, "This is ridiculous."  She leans forward, resting her hands on her knees as she looked at him, "When she asked her questions, what aspect of our relationship did your mind immediately go to, Jacob?  Your instinct.  That's where we should start, as that is where you probably have the strongest feelings."</p><p>He hums, thinking. "Honestly? The first thing that came to mind was PDA." He looks up to her. "Like, what we're comfortable with?"</p><p>She nods, leaning back to how she was sitting before, "Alright.  There we go then."</p><p>He chuckles. "Well, what are you comfortable with?"</p><p>She pauses, thinking about it, "I...hm."  She frowns slightly, seemingly looking past him at the tent wall as she thinks before looking back at him, "This may sound absurd.  I'm a comfort touch person.  Hand holding, hugs, simple kisses; innocent things.  Not sexual.  I know," she sighs, this time looking down at the floor, "I know Aphy's comments may make things sound otherwise, but that's...not necessarily the case."</p><p>Jacob nods, listening. He chuckles a little awkwardly "Yeah, some of her comments suggested a lot of things, but I get the feeling she doesn't fully grasp everything about things like this... No offense to her; just an observation."</p><p>She glances back up at him, pausing for a moment before nodding slightly, "She's been...sheltered.  Some social things she just doesn't grasp yet, and that's alright."</p><p>He nods, frankly amazed that she ended up sheltered considering what he knows of Aphy and Salaniea's past. </p><p>He looks to the side for a moment, thinking.</p><p>Salaniea just watches him, quiet, letting him have time to think and word whatever he wants.</p><p>He turns back to Salaniea and smiles. After a moment, his eyes widen for a second and he sits up a little straighter as if remembering or realizing something. "Oh, right."</p><p>He rubs the back of his neck. "Well, as for PDA... I'm definitely fine with hand holding and hugging." He looks a little awkward. "...What do you mean by 'simple kissing'?"</p><p>She nods slightly, "What we've already done and no further, essentially.   Hand kisses, cheeks, tops of heads, whatever.  Mouths if we keep it..." She shrugs slightly, looking out of her element, "simple.  I'm not sure how else to describe it.  This is not something I've done before."</p><p>He visibly relaxes. "I'm comfortable with that: quick kisses." He smiles, a slightly dreamy look, as if he's still having to process the fact that they are together and can even do this stuff.</p><p>She smiles at the look on his face, glad to know she isn't the only one who hasn't really processed it all.  "Yeah.  Quick.  Better way to describe it, thank you."</p><p>He chuckles and tips his hat as a comical 'you're welcome'. He then relaxes back to leaning forward a bit, elbows resting on his knees. "What did you think of when Aphy asked?"</p><p>"Other than PDA?  Because that was definitely a first thought of mine."  She sighs, looking down at her hands as she debates with herself for a long moment before speaking, "This is, I think, an ever evolving conversation, and one we can definitely wait to have if you would rather, but..." She looks back at him, her face carefully crafted into an interested but emotionless expression, as to not sway his answer, "How serious is ..are we?  We kept saying that, that we're serious, but ..." She shrugs, trailing off.  "I know things around us are incredibly uncertain, so it's alright if there's no answer."</p><p>His smile falls, a touch of uncertainty beginning to show on his face. He listens seriously as she speaks, meeting her gaze. He's quiet for a while after as he thinks, his head resting on his closed fists, his eyes seemingly scanning the floor, and a crease forming on his brow. After what felt like far longer than a few seconds, he looks back up at Salaniea, meeting her eyes. </p><p>"...I agree that this is probably a topic we should revisit regularly. I'd say it's too early to have any idea how far this will go or how anything will work out. The added quest certainly doesn't help..." He trails off for a moment there, his gaze still toward Salaniea but seeming to be looking past her, then his eyes focus again and he continues. "But I can tell you how I feel right and this question can be updated as we go." He sits up straighter and looks directly into her eyes with a no-nonsense expression. "Where we are at now, I don't think I've ever been more serious about a relationship in my life. However, if you want this to be more casual, I am entirely open for that. Essentially, you can set the seriousness of this to your personal comfort level, so to speak." He says the final sentence in a bit of a lighter tone, a small smile appearing on his face. He supposes his answer was probably coming on a little strong, but he’s just telling the truth. It might change in the future-heck, it'll probably change at least some in the future-but that's where the ongoing discussions come into play. Right now, in this moment, he really wants this, to be with Salaniea. She's so different from everyone else and he's perhaps getting a tad overzealous about it all... In any case, he considers this to be her choice. After all, if this does remain serious, she's the one most likely to be hurt. It's her choice if she wants to take that risk. </p><p>She should have known, but she needed to check.  For her own sake, she needed to ask so she could hear him say it.  She stares at him for what feels like a very long time after he finishes speaking, before the careful mask she'd tried to craft comes crashing down.  She laughs, only to unsuccessfully try to hide the way her eyes become glossy, and her voice becomes...choked up?  She looked at him again.  "Jacob.  In the past, all my relationships have been related to work.  They've only ever been strictly casual.  I do not want this to be like that.  At this point in time," she holds her hands out to her sides in a palm up sort of gesture of complete openness, "I'm all in for as long as we get."</p><p>Jacob's posture relaxes and he lets out a breath he didn't realize he was holding, breathlessly laughing out of relief now that the tension has been broken. </p><p>He beams at her words, absolutely elated by what he is hearing, though he can hardly believe it. It feels too good to be true. Then, he notices her tearing up, and his smile immediately drops to a look of concern. "Are you alright?" He asks urgently, worried. "You can tell me the truth." Had he come on too strong? Did she feel like she was being forced into this? He scans her face and body language, prepared to judge whether or not her reply will be a lie.</p><p>She notes his concern and remembers when the roles were reversed, letting out a wet laugh.  Shaking her head, she smiles, "More than alright.  I just." She looks up at the tent for a moment, blinking before looking back to him as a few years spill down her cheeks, "You're something special.  Different.  Good."</p><p>The conversation with Aphy had been a lot.  Her emotions are high and she’s just given up on trying to hide them.</p><p>He sighs with relief that she's alright, then also lets out a bit of a laugh, more at his own momentary stupidity than anything else. When he processes what she said about him, his words fail. He has to remind himself for what felt like the hundredth time that this isn't a dream; she really does think this of him. He smiles and moves a little forward to get closer to her, specifically kind of scooting a little closer since they are sitting down on the floor. He reaches up with both hands and gently wipes the tears from her face. "I could say the same about you"</p><p>She smiles slightly, softly, eyes scanning his face for a moment.  She mumbles something quickly in elven, before switching back to common with a small laugh, "Thank you.  Sorry, I didn't mean to get...like this." She blinks, reaching up a hand to cover his on her face.  Are they probably rushing into things a little?  Yeah, but she can't bring herself to care.  They are on a mission they may not survive, and she'd somehow found one of the most gentle men in existence.  And he cares for her. She can't imagine  not  being serious about this relationship.</p><p>He smiles gently at her, before a corner of his mouth flicks up in the hint of a playful smirk. "To be fair, I did it first. You have no reason to apologize." </p><p>He keeps the hand she is covering where it is but uses the other hand to smooth back her hair before lowering it.</p><p>She laughs again, "You have a point." She leans into the touch for a moment before bringing their hands down to their laps, holding the hand that is not smoothing her hair with both of her hands.  She looks back at him, to try to get this conversation back on track at least somewhat, "Was there anything else you wanted to specify?  Your ground rules, as you put it?"</p><p>Oh right, that's what this conversation was about. Jacob brings his other hand back down and places it over one of hers as he thinks. Anything else they need to establish about their relationship... Some part in the back of his mind suggests asking about affection and behavior when in private, but the rest of his mind is very against the awkwardness that could arise from bringing that up so early with his amazing new girlfriend while they're sitting on his bed roll. So he's leaving that one alone...<br/>
He hums in thought, absently rubbing his thumb along Salaniea's hand, before playfully smirking again and asking "Pet names?" Both his expressions and tone making it very clear he's kidding around.</p><p>Salaniea laughs, shrugging.  She knows he’s joking but, "Alright with me."  She’s relieved he hadn't shied away from her question.  She was nervous he would, what with this being so early, but he didn't and his answer was more than she could have hoped for.</p><p>He grins and gives a quick nod, acknowledging her answer and mentally tucking it away. Figuring it's only fair he gives an answer too, he says. "Same here." He suddenly grimaces a little, eyes looking up as if recalling something. "Well, except 'babe' and 'darling'. Unfond memories attached to those." He looks back toward her and waves a hand, dismissing the comment as trivial. He thinks for a moment, seriously considering if there's anything else they need to establish. "Other than that, I honestly can't think of anything we need to talk about at the moment... What about you? Anything you wanted to cover?"</p><p>Salaniea makes a note of those two names, and the reaction to them, filing that away for a later day.  She wonders at the story behind it, but doesn't think this is the right time to ask.</p><p> "Alright."  She thinks for a minute at his question before shaking her head slightly, "I don't think so.  Not at this point, anyway?"</p><p>He smiles "Well, I suppose that's it for now then. If anything else comes up we can discuss it as needed." He tilts his head to the side for a moment, then chuckles a little. Not sure what to do now that business is over.</p><p>She smiles back, "Of course."  She lets out a breath, looking down at their hands.  That was a relief to get over - both this conversation and especially the one with Aphy.  Neither had been quite how she expected, but she’s glad they had been done.</p><p>Jacob taps his fingers a little as he thinks. Since they've been stuck at this camp, there hasn't been much to do. Fealee and Aphy already handled the foraging for the day, meals are covered by some of the others, Zevryn has been keeping a close watch-though Jacob isn't sure how much he trusts him between the thing with Fealee's necklace and how worn out he looked last time he saw him-and beyond that there isn't much that needs to be done around camp. As far as he can tell, there's nothing for them to do beyond hang out, either with each other or other Chosen. His eyes focus back on Salaniea as he asks, in a slightly awkward tone. "Well, what do you want to do? Spend time here for a bit? Go for a walk? Talk to others..?" He trails off a bit at the end as an indication that he’s open to suggestions.</p><p>When Jacob speaks, pulling her from her thoughts, she looks up to meet his gaze.  She listens to him ask his questions before responding, "Is there anything you have against just staying here?"  The conversation from earlier had been a bit of a panicked ride, and here in the tent they'd carved out a space of calm.  Surprising even herself, she doesn't want to leave it quite yet.  She thinks back to the walk they'd taken just after coming to the catacombs, just asking questions of each other and telling stories.  Peaceful things, in contrast to the recently always-tense camp outside.</p><p>Jacob turns slightly to look at the tent flap for a moment, before turning back to  her. "No," He smiles. "Staying here is fine." Frankly, today has been crazy enough as it is, in both good and bad ways; he would appreciate some time to relax.</p><p>"Alright."  She smiles at his answer, before looking at him and tilting her head slightly, "May I ask you a question?"</p><p>"Of course"</p><p>"Your sister.  Will you tell me about her?"</p><p>He blinks in surprise, then smiles. He supposes he should have seen that one coming; it only made sense. He settles back into a relaxed posture and thinks for a moment about what to say.<br/>
"Well, to start, her name's Alyssa. She still lives back in Prudence." His eyes start to look a little far off as he begins to reminisce. "She's sweet and stubborn. She would always tried to act so mature and pretend she didn't love sugary foods and rolling around in the grass." He chuckles "She trains animals now, from what I've heard. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to see her with her new job before I was chosen..." </p><p>She watches him talk about his sister, a smile on her face.  Clearly Alyssa means a lot to him.  She hopes that they will make it through these catacombs, and that if they are still together, Salaniea will be able to meet her.  She doesn't want to interrupt, happy to listen and see if he will continue.</p><p>Continue he does. </p><p>"She's about 7 years younger than me, so I babysat a lot growing up." He perks up a bit. "Oh! I remember one time, back when she was just about"  He moves his hand up a couple of feet to suggest height. "I was having to watch her while my parents were away. I got bored and ended up parking her in the corner of a room so I could go snooping around in theses wooden boxes I had noticed in our parents' room the day before. After a while, I noticed she was gone!" He motions along with everything he's saying, talking with his hands. "I freaked out and looked all over the house for her.  I looked under the beds; she wasn't there. I checked the cupboards; she wasn't there. Heck, I even checked the fireplace." He feigns a heavy sigh . "I was still a kid, so I was about crying at this point, worried she had been spirited away or crawled out the door or something. But then, I noticed the pantry door was cracked open..." He grins. "I look in frantic, and what do I see? Alyssa had gotten in and was making a mess of the flour! I immediately picked her up and practically ran out of there. I got her cleaned up pretty easily, but still got in trouble later because the pantry was covered in flour, since I didn't get the chance to clean it up while keeping her directly in my sight for the rest of the day." He laughs a little, then suddenly realizes that he just went on a long tangient, and looks a little apologetic</p><p>Salaniea loved listening to him talk, and can't remember a time she'd seen him quite so animated.  It’s amusing, and sweet.  She can't help but nod along with the story, laughing along as well.  She could perfectly imagine little Jacob running around trying his best to keep the situation under control.  "I can imagine the chaos.  It's sweet though, you clearly love her a lot."</p><p>He chuckles and rubs the back of his neck. "Well, of course! She's my sister." He smiles. "I love her very much." He knows she probably understands the feeling, considering how much he can tell she cares about Aphy. After a moment, just looking at Salaniea with a soft smile, he speaks again. "Well, your turn! Any stories to share?"</p><p>She smiles as he speaks, his happiness contagious.  When he asks her, she laughs.  "Do I ever.  We once spent an evening with an elven clan while travelling through a thick woodland, and they had animal companions.  The thing was, they ended our stay with many more animal companions than they had started with.  Aphy was such in her element, though.  I woke up and instead of a few horses and wolves, they suddenly had deer and small creatures, birds," she shakes her head, "The poor elves didn't know what to do, they'd never seen it before.  We walked over, and there was my sister sitting in the center of it all talking to the animals.  The elves wanted her to stay with them, help them learn how to do it too."</p><p>He listens to Salaniea intently, clearly genuinely interested in the tale. His eyes widen, full of an almost childlike wonder as she describes Aphy calling all the wild animals to her. "Wow, I can hardly imagine it!" He hums "But then again, she did call that mouse to her today. Aphy's really good with animals isn't she? You said she can speak to them?"</p><p>She smiles, nodding, "That she is.  She's always picking up animal friends on our travels.  She's always speaking to them as well, and they seem to know what she's saying."  Salaniea gives a small shrug, "I'm not entirely sure how they understand, but it seems they do."</p><p>Jacob nods, thinking. He then shakes his head with a smile. "There's a lot of different magic out there. I'm sure there's something that can allow actual communication with animals."</p><p>She shrugs, smiling slightly, "I'm sure you're right."  Either way, they seemed to always have a trail of animals following behind them.  It was just par for the course travelling with Aphy.</p><p>He looks kind of curious for a moment. "Did the two of you ever bring any of the animals with you?"</p><p>"We definitely had an occasional bird or mouse that she tried to take with us."  She seems to think a bit more, before realization dawns on her face, "Ah, yes, we did have a fox who stuck around for quite a while.  Travelled with us for a few weeks, from Korvosa to a small village, and onward to Myrvar.  Stopped following us shortly before we got there, however.  It was like Aphy's personal companion for a while there"</p><p>"A fox?" He smiles, amused. He hasn't had much interaction with foxes himself, so he doesn't know their temperaments, but he can't help but imagine the furry creature bounding along behind the two and circling around their legs and it is adorable to think about. "Did she ever name it?"</p><p>She smiles, laughing quietly, "But of course.  She carried cinnamon sticks, and the fox was always interested in them.  So, she named it Cinnamon.</p><p>Welp. That does it. Adorable image is completed. </p><p>He grins and chuckles. "Well, she's better at naming animals than I am!"</p><p>She tilts her head, smirking and raising an eyebrow, "Oh?"  Now that sounds like there is a story behind it.</p><p>"Don't get your hopes up too much for a story; I don't really remember why I did it, buut..." He leans forward and brings a hand up beside his mouth, speaking in a conspiratorial whisper. "I named a dog Birdy."</p><p>That was not what she was expecting.  She lets out a laugh, "Jacob.  You did not."</p><p>He starts breaking down in laughter too, though he's trying to keep composure. "But I did!" He leans back a bit and raises his arms to either side of him. "She was a  big dog, too!"</p><p>She looks confused but entirely amused, "But why?  You saw a big dog and went Ah yes.  Birdy.  A perfect name.  Were you young?"</p><p>He shakes his head still grinning. "The answer eludes me to this day" He drops his arms. "And yes, I was young. Had to have been around.." He pauses for a second. "4? 5? Yeah, because we'd only had her a couple years or so when Alyssa was born."</p><p>"Okay, so probably your age had something to do with it."  She shakes her head, still laughing quietly, "Birdy.  I love it."  She doesn't quite have anything like that.  She had learned multiple languages, and messed up words in that process, but that was a bit different.  She wasn't naming something at least.</p><p>He chuckles and settles down, glad to see that Salaniea enjoyed his little anecdote. "Yeah... We loved her."  He grins wistfully. "Even if she kept getting the table dirty with her paws"</p><p>She smiles, her laughing calming down, "Pets will do that, I imagine.  She sounds lovely though."  She looks at him, noting the smile on his face as well.  It was clear he had a happy childhood, and she was glad for it because it carried into his adulthood as well.  She doesn't want to know what he would be like if he hadn't.</p><p>Thinking so far back in his life makes him start thinking about when he left for Myrvar to start his apprenticeship. He was so excited to go out and become a tradesman, even if it hadn't been for the craft itself at the time. He looks at Salaniea, thinking about how she told him she became an assassin. Clearly, that wouldn't have been her first choice. He wonders what she would have liked to do.. But he's also not sure if he should breach the topic, concerned it might root up bad memories of what forced her to enter this lifestyle in the first place. After a while, he decides on something else to ask. "Between the two of you, who usually cooks? You or Aphy?" He shrugs. "At least, I assume at least one of you does. It's an important skill"</p><p>Salaniea pauses for a minute at the question, just slightly caught off guard, before she answers, "Typically me.  Aphy can do a bit, but generally if we're not staying in a tavern that falls to me.  I taught myself how when I was quite young."</p><p>He nods, figuring that that made sense. He wasn't sure how young the two were when they ended up on their own, but with how much Salaniea cared for Aphy it made sense for her to take on the responsibility. Aphy might have been too young, or Salaniea might have simply been that determined to take care of her little sister. </p><p>He smiles "Any particular favorites? To make or to eat?" At this point he's mostly just curious, but he wants to hear from her</p><p>She really has to think a minute on that one.  She didn't make much in terms of anything fancy, most of her cooking was simply because they needed to eat something on their travels.  "I don't get to make it often when we're travelling, but I enjoy making bread.  I used to help out in bakeries when I was younger to make a bit more coin, when getting jobs in the other realm was a rarer occasion.  Sometimes if we stay in a city long enough, we'll spend an evening just enjoying our time there, and when I know those nights are coming up, I'll try to make some for us."</p><p>He smiles as he listens to her. Bread. He never thought about it much before, but that would be something of a luxury on the road, wouldn't it? Especially freshly baked.<br/>
He knows she had a much harder experience than him, and he enjoys hearing her speak so fondly about her life. Makes him think of how important it is to appreciate the little things. </p><p>He hums, still smiling. "Bread sounds really good. I'd love to try some of yours when we get back to civilization" He makes a guess that she wouldn't mind too much since she apparently enjoys making it. And, perhaps his experience isn't universal, but he's always been really happy seeing people enjoy things he makes.</p><p>Her eyes widen when he says this, genuinely surprised.  She nods, and slowly smiles, gently.  "Alright, yeah.  when we return, I'll make you some."  She knows bread was probably much simpler of an answer than he expected, but as someone who was constantly moving, to be able to have fresh bread was a luxury.  And making it was a bit of a therapeutic act for her as well, one that was maybe a bit better for her than the combat-based defaults she could manage to do while on the road.</p><p>He offers her his hand and smiles.</p><p>Salaniea takes his hand, returning the smile.</p><p>When they get out... He won't let himself think in 'if's. Darnnit he has enough to be stressed about as it is. But when they get out.<br/>
He wonders if Salaniea will go back to her usual gig or find something else to do now that they're heroes. He wonders if she and Aphy might find a proper place to call home... He wonders if she'll stick around. </p><p>"So, probably in a couple of weeks? I guess? Assuming we actually get moving soon"</p><p>The thought of getting back to civilization was something she hadn't allowed for herself.  She always tried to do that on long jobs - keep things realistic.  Others may call it pessimistic.  Especially now, with attachments that may keep her from going back to life as it was, it’s almost a scary thought.  "Assuming we get moving soon, and it doesn't take us long to figure out whatever curse situation is going on inside the city."</p><p>He gives a quick nod, acknowledging that she had a point with that last bit. "Who knows how long that will take... With any luck we can find some old script or something, but if the city really was cursed as some sort of punishment the chances of the solution just laying around in the open are slim, at best."</p><p>"Mm.  exactly."  She looks at him, "Though, we have enough people who seem to know what they're doing with curses and magic that I have hope that we'll find it quickly."  She knows she won't be too much help, but she will try her best.</p><p>He nods. "Mila's pretty knowledgeable on the subject." He's been keeping tabs on several of the more prominent members of their party since early in the mission. "And I can't shake the feeling that Citrine knows more than she's letting us believe..." </p><p>She doesn't know all that much, but she slowly nods, "Mila does know what she's talking about, and I could see that with Citrine."  She trusts his opinion in this manner, only having interacted with either of them once or twice.  Most of what she knew came from simply observing their interactions with others.</p><p>"Yeah, I'm sure we'll figure something out, even if it takes us a while...." He absentmindedly rubs his thumb over her fingers. "If nothing else, maybe we'll..." Meet some more ghosts like Oath that could help us gather information. He stops himself before finishing though, looking back to Salaniea. He had adjusted to Oath's presence oddly quickly, but he knew she wasn't comfortable around him, and thinking about even more ghosts likely wouldn't be a great thought. "Maybe we'll find some scripts that explain what happened. Even if they don't have a cure laid out, if we know more about what started the curse I imagine the more knowledgeable members of our party could find ideas based on that."</p><p>His optimism is refreshing, but she desperately hopes it wasn't blind optimism.  She notices his pause, but doesn't push, not really thinking too much of it.  "I hope you're right."  She’s just worried about this curse affecting other members of the party.  They'd already almost lost Eredas, and watched Stagis get possessed, she didn't know how the party would react to the curse meddling with another member.</p><p>Jacob is specifically not thinking about the curse affecting people. That is not a thing he wants to think about, so he's avoiding it. </p><p>He sighs at how heavy the conversation got, though he supposes it was inevitable. Logically, he knows their chances of breaking the curse are slim, but if he lets himself think like that he's worried he might not be able to go on.</p><p>Salaniea lets out a small sigh as well.  This adventure is more than anyone really bargained for.  There is a slim chance of everyone making it out unaffected - she just has to make sure her little family was.</p><p>If this keeps up his mind is going to go into dark places again, so he tries to change the topic. "Have you ever interacted with geese?"</p><p>She blinks, looking at him, "Geese?  I've seen them briefly, but never interacted with them, no.  Why?  Have you?"</p><p>His face becomes a mask of feigned solemnity as he nods into the distance. "An entire flock of wild geese... Back when I was 16."</p><p>She tilts her head, "How'd that go for you?'</p><p>"I was bitten four times" He holds up four fingers. "I was with a buddy of mine, who wisely fled, though without warning me about them. We didn't have wild geese back in Prudence, so I assumed they were just large ducks, essentially." He shrugs. "So I kind of taunted them by approaching, expecting them to run away back into the park's pond. I didn't expect them to come running at me, flapping their wings and making an awful cacophony of calls."</p><p>She shook her head with a grin, "That's an understandable assumption.  But no, ducks are a little nicer."</p><p>He chuckles, the serious mask breaking. "Yeah, no kidding. I got my a** handed to me. One jumped up at me and got my arm as I tried to block." He points to his arm, supposedly where he was bitten. "It knocked me off balance when combined with the shock and I fell backwards. They swarmed all over me and I was lucky to get out with just the four significant bites. Took me a couple minutes to kick and shove them all off enough for me to stand up and run like my life depended on it." He grins. "Lesson learned. Never messing with geese again"</p><p>She laughs quietly, "A good lesson.  I'm glad you're alright after that.  It sounds like quite the experience.  We just passed by them while travelling, and didn't really think much of it."</p><p>"To be fair, even if they got close to you, I'm sure Aphy would have had them wrapped around her finger in no time." He pauses. "Unless they're also mean even to people who can talk to them." He imagines a goose cussing out poor Aphy while she desperately tries to make peace.</p><p>She nods, "You do have a point.  She once befriended a swarm of bees, I can't imagine geese would be an issue after that." She thinks about the geese just being mean and shrugs, "But I don't know.  Can't say we've ever gotten close enough to find out."</p><p>He nods. "I'd say it's something on the to do list but.." he smirks a little "probably better just not to find out."</p><p>She laughs.  He tells a whole story about how bad geese are and then says his first instinct is to suggest they go get close to them again.  "I thought the lesson was to not mess with geese, Jacob."</p><p>He barely holds himself together "Well I'm curious now!" He gives her hand a small squeeze. "Hm, but you're right" A feigned sigh "I should be responsible and learn from my mistakes." He grins, a teasing glint in his eye</p><p>"Of course you are!"  She grins as well, teasing right back, "Losing your sister...fighting geese...you do know what responsible even means right?  I'm starting to doubt it."</p><p>"Now hold on!" He tries to feign indignance, laughing. "I have an entire shop to my name! Could an irresponsible person do that?" He puts his free hand to his chest in a dramatic show of mock pride.</p><p>She laughs as well, her eyes alight as she grins at him, "There's a first time for everything, isn't there?"</p><p>He gasps, putting on an overdramatic expression of shock and offense. "This is slander!" He puts a hand up to his forehead. "An outrage!" His act breaks down as he starts barely holding in laughter. "I can't believe my own girlfriend would wound me so!" As the words leave his lips he can't help but smile, feeling a little giddy. That's the first time either of them have directly said it and it makes his heart glow with warmth.</p><p>She can't keep up the act anymore, breaking down laughing.  She gently squeezes his hand, partly to make sure he knows she was joking, and partly because she could.  Hearing him say that hits her. It was something she never thought she'd get to be called.  It felt right coming from him.</p><p>Jacob breaks down in laughter as well, not holding it back anymore now that the joke's over. He squeezes her hand back and looks at her, relishing how happy she looks. He can tell his face is flushed, probably mostly from all the laughing. He ends up laughing longer than the situation calls for, but between the joyous atmosphere they've generated in his little tent and the fact that he barely slept at all last night he can't help it. </p><p>By the time they've quieted down, her face is flushed as well.  Primarily not from the laughing, but if he asked she would vehemently deny it.  She can't remember the last time she'd laughed this long...or this genuinely.</p><p>Once the two have settled down, Jacob suddenly feels really tired. He's greatly enjoying himself though and wants to spend longer with Salaniea, so he ignores it.</p><p>He lets the quiet remain for a little while, grinning like a fool and just generally enjoying her company.</p><p>Salaniea's never felt the need to say things, finding a comfortable quiet just as pleasant as conversation at least with people she cared for, so she doesn't push him to speak.  Instead, she lets them simply be, gently rubbing her thumb across Jacob's knuckles.  All the while, a soft smile on her face that really only he gets to see.</p><p>Jacob's always been a very talkative person, so feeling this comfortable in silence with someone is a bit of a newer concept for him. However, he finds himself content to just be here with her.</p><p>Unfortunately, the comfortable atmosphere, combined with his restless night and hectic morning, is making him very...very...sleepy... So he shakes his head, snapping himself out of it when he notices himself start drifting, and decides he needs to start the conversation going again or else he'll be down for the count.</p><p>"You know, as illustrated by my ignorance towards geese," he chuckles. "Staying in one or two areas severely limits the type of wildlife you run into... But I imagine when moving around a lot, especially when Aphy speaks to and attracts animals, would give you experience with a greater variety..." He smiles "I'm curious: what would you describe as the oddest creature you've ever seen?"</p><p>She lets out a hum, "I once travelled with a witch who had a small dinosaur as her familiar.  It was a small ghost dinosaur.  That was odd."</p><p>Jacob blinks in surprise. He isn't sure what he was expecting, but it certainly wasn't that. "A-" he seems to be having trouble fully processing what she just said. "A dinosaur?!" He racks his brain for what he knows about dinosaurs, before realization dawns on his face. Mind you, he still looks absolutely befuddled. "Wait how big was it?! She might as well have had a dragon familiar!   I mean," he chuckles. "I know you said small but that's a relative term.. and aren't dinosaurs gargantuan?! How big is a small dinosaur?"</p><p>She laughs at his shock, "A dinosaur.  It was.." she holds her free hand to about a foot above the ground "ish?  Walked on two feet, long dino.  Also ghost, and blinked out of existence when she told it to, which is interesting."</p><p>"Wow!" He nods and slowly turns his head to the side, picturing it. "A dinosaur." He looks back at her and smiles. "Not going to lie, I was not expecting something like that. And a ghost too..." He suddenly realizes that she seems fine talking about this ghost even though the ghosts around the catacombs freaked her out. Maybe it's because this one isn't humanoid? Or maybe it's because a little spectral dino would be easier to ignore the fact that it's technically dead. "Did it have a name?"</p><p>She laughs, "Trust me, I wasn't expecting it when I saw it either.  Its name was Caeser." This ghost didn't worry her because it wasn't humanoid.  It also was very clearly more magical of a ghost than an undead ghost.</p><p>Jacob mimics her earlier hand motion, referencing Caesar's size. "It's like a large two-legged lizard.." He grins. "You come across the most interesting people on your travels"</p><p>She laughs, "Pretty much.  And yeah, I do."</p><p>He absent-mindedly rubs his eye with his free hand. "I sometimes get some unusual characters coming through the shop, or passing through the tavern back in Myrvar, but that is a new one."</p><p>Salaniea gently rubs his hand with her thumb, "I can imagine." She pauses, noticing the rubbing of his eyes, "You alright?"</p><p>He chuckles. "I'm fine." He smiles at her encouragingly.</p><p>She just hesitates a moment before nodding, leaving it be.  "So did your family have a smithing business?  Or how did you get into knife making?"</p><p>He shakes his head. "No, my family weren't smiths. I got into the business in Myrvar." He grins. "I was interested in it before. Many people don't realize this, but skilled smiths are actually highly valued and respected." His smile turns a little sheepish. "I have to admit I was originally in it for the money and prestige, but I quickly grew to love the craft in my apprenticeship."</p><p>She nods, "Ah, okay.  I could believe that they would be respected, it seems like a careful craft to learn.  And you're good at it." She shrugs slightly.</p><p>Jacob beams at the praise, clearly proud of what he does. "Thank you, that's very kind of you to say!"</p><p>She smiles, "But of course." She always kept one of his knives on her.  They truly were some of the best ones she used - after all she sometimes made trips to Myrvar just to pick some up.</p><p>"Well, I always make my blades with use in mind." He tilts his head. "I take aesthetics into account as well, of course, but priority 1 is practicality." He motions with his fingers, giving the impression of tracing the edge of a blade. "Weight, balance, durability, even shape all need to be carefully planned."</p><p>While he speaks, she nods along.  Once he’s done, she reaches into her boot, pulling out a knife that he may recognize, it was one of his after all.  She gives it a small twirl, clearly more than comfortable handling it, before looking at him with a smirk.  "Trust me, I know.  On a job, seconds could cost me my life.  Knives play into that more than I think people realize."</p><p>Jacob looks from the knife, to Salaniea, to the knife again, and how well she handles it. All the while, a smile slowly spreads across his face as he recognizes the dagger and connects the dots that she must use it a lot. He looks her in the eyes, how much this actually means to him clear on his face. "A woman after my own heart." He can tell: she appreciates how much care he puts into his work, and the quality of the finished product, and that makes him positively glow.</p><p>She smiles, knowing by the expression on his face that he understood.  She sheathes the knife once again in her boot, before looking back at him.  She wants to see this look more often - this genuine happiness.  It fits him well.  She gently squeezes his other hand that she is still holding, winking at him with a smile, "You know it."</p><p>He can feel his face heat up in response to her wink, though his smile never falters. D*mn, what did he ever do in his lying, greedy life to deserve her? He takes off his hat with his free hand and puts it aside before moving a little closer to her. "May I?" He reaches around to place his free hand on her back and glances at her lips to clarify the meaning of his question.</p><p>She lets out a quiet "absolutely" before she lets go of his hand instead to take her hands and cup his face as she closes the gap instead.  Her thoughts echo his - there was nothing she'd ever done to deserve this man, quite the opposite really.  She could only hope he didn't realize it, because she doesn't know if she’s prepared for him to leave so soon.</p><p>Jacob wraps his newly free hand around her waist as they kiss. The other hand, originally on her back, he brings up to run his fingers through her hair. The world around them melts away and he just enjoys this moment of bliss.</p><p>Kissing him is like being transported to a whole other world - one where everything is peaceful and they aren't stuck in the dark and dreary catacombs.  After a few moments she pulls back to take in a breath, smiling softly at him and absently lightly running her thumbs over his cheekbones.</p><p>As she pulls away, he opens his eyes and meets her gaze. His fingers are still entwined in her hair, so he absently plays with it as he stares in adoration. He still can't get over that smile, so genuine and gentle. And the fact that it is directed at him practically drives his heart wild. </p><p>Her cheeks have flushed and there is definitely some visible pink at this point.   She can't remember a time someone looked at her like that and it made her heart so warm.</p><p>The hand in her hair moves to cradle the back of her head as he draws in for another kiss, not yet ready to let go. His heart feels like it's going to burst with joy at the realization, probably for the eighth time today, that this is really happening;<br/>
Salaniea really cares about him, and they are together now. He feels that that fact will probably continue to astound him for a long time.</p><p>She doesn't fight him at all, gladly going along with it.  Anytime he does anything in regards to her, she feels utterly shocked.  She doesn't deserve him.  She knows they have to move on soon, make their way into the city and face whatever terrors lie there so she savors this time with him.</p><p>He's reluctant to pull away, but he does eventually, tracing his hand along her jaw. He gently rubs his thumb along the edge of her lip and smiles, taking in the moment.</p><p>She lets out a small breath, opening her eyes which had been closed during the kiss.  She was happy to just let him seemingly memorize her face, ears twitching occasionally as he did so.</p><p>After a little while, Jacob carefully smooths her hair to the side and leans forward just enough for them to touch foreheads.  He closes his eyes and just stays like that for a bit with his arms wrapped around her: just taking in her warmth and scent. He can imagine that the two of them are at his shop in Torsholm instead of in a beaten tent within the haunted catacombs of Xafrin. After a few seconds, he loosens the hold of his arms and pulls back a little, smiling at her.</p><p>When he leans forward, her hands slip down to just rest lightly on the sides of his neck and she closes her eyes as well.   In the chaos around them, he was her stability.  When she feels him pull back, she opens her eyes and let her hands fall to her lap, returning the smile with a quiet, "Hey."</p><p>"Hey." He mimics back, the edge of his mouth turning up into a bit of a smirk.</p><p>She laughed quietly, "Copper for your thoughts?"</p><p>He hums, and when he speaks, his voice is completely genuine. "You are an amazing woman, and I am astoundingly lucky to have you."</p><p>Her eyes widen and her ears flatten back, fully not expecting that answer.  As her brain processes it though, she smiles again and her cheeks flush, "Why, thank you.  The feeling is mutual, though, you know."</p><p>Jacob successfully fights down the urge to be a smart aleck and reply with 'You think I'm an amazing woman?'. Instead, he focuses on the actual meaning of what she said and grins. "I greatly appreciate that."</p><p>Clearly, by her slightly off response, the genuity she heard behind his compliment threw her off a bit.  She just nods slightly with a small smile.</p><p>"And you?" The teasing glint returns to his eye. "How much do I have to pay you to know what you're thinking?"</p><p>She lets out a quiet hum, smirking, "Now, usually they're pricey but this once I'll spare you the charge if you're really interested."</p><p>"Nothing could interest me more right now."</p><p>She looks at him for a moment with a raised brow before nodding slightly and letting her teasing expression fade to a much softer one.  She tilts her head as she looks at him and speaks, "I don't deserve a man as sweet or gentle as you, and am so lucky and amazed that this" she motions between the two of them, "is happening."</p><p>He's surprised by what she said of him; 'sweet' and 'gentle' not usually being the words he'd use to describe himself. While caught off guard, it still makes him feel warm. "I keep having to remind myself it is" He chuckles.</p><p>She knows those words aren't always what the persona he played was, but in every interaction she has with him they ring true.  She smiles at his comment, "It is."</p><p>"And I am so, so glad it is." He makes eye contact with her, then smirks. "So glad we didn't bother keeping this professional."</p><p>She laughs, shaking her head, "Me too."  She still finds it a bit funny that of all people, she's dating Jacob Jason the black market dealer.  She never would have guessed.</p><p>First, Salaniea was his client. Then, she was a party member and fellow Chosen. Now she's Jacob's girlfriend. Two professional relationships before this. It's kind of funny to think about.</p><p>He grins and pulls her into an embrace.</p><p>She smiles, slipping her arms around him and lightly resting her forehead on his shoulder.  She enjoys his warmth in contrast to the cold the catacombs usually left her with.</p><p>Jacob is perfectly content to just sit there in her arms, absently running his hand up and down her back.</p><p>Salaniea lets her eyes close, enjoying the closeness of him.  She always carried some tension in her that was noticeable, but this is the most relaxed she has been in a while.</p><p>Jacob immediately recognizes how much she has relaxed and decides to stay like this, keeping himself awake by lightly tracing shapes into her back. After a while, he starts softly humming.</p><p>It wasn't until she really let herself stop that she realized how badly she needed to.  Salaniea may have been able to sleep better than Jacob has, but she has her own issues.  She tries to always keep herself moving or doing something, no matter how small, so she wouldn't think about what  was leading them through the catacombs.  Her body needed her to chill for a minute or two, and his humming [which she enjoyed more than she would admit] helps keep her from thinking herself into a panic.</p><p>He carefully leans his head against her and closes his eyes, his continued humming becoming about the only thing keeping him awake at this point. That humming is interrupted for a moment by him trying and failing to suppress a yawn, but he continues immediately after.</p><p>She hears him yawn, but doesn't move.  She wants to wait, to see if he will fall asleep instead.  As much as she wants to stay like that, she is more than willing to leave in order for him to get the sleep that he needs as well.</p><p>Jacob stopped tracing a little while ago, switching to just keeping his arms wrapped around her. Now, his humming slowly becomes softer and more inconsistent, until it eventually trails off entirely. Within a minute, his breathing has evened out and his muscles have completely relaxed.</p><p>Salaniea feels him doze off, letting out a small breath of relief before relaxing a bit again and letting herself eventually drift into meditation</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Please leave a comment, even if it is short! I love seeing people's reactions to this sort of thing and there are a lot of moments and reveals in particular that I'd love to know your thoughts on!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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